The rotten fruit had been spoiling for a long time. Jeremiah 25 is a prophecy that was delivered some years prior to the exile. The prophecy appears at this point in the book because it explains how the bad figs of chapter 24 got spoiled in the first place. It wasn’t for lack of warning! Jeremiah had been preaching for decades, constantly calling the people to repentance. Others had also been sent by God with the same message, and this was a sign of His grace. The LORD does not keep us guessing about what He hates and what pleases Him. He gives His instructions over and over again. Yet He also holds people responsible for every warning they ignore (v 1-7). The consequences are always devastating when we refuse to listen to God’s Word. In the case of Jerusalem, judgment would include the invasion of an enemy army. The city would be ruined and the people humiliated. The simple joys of everyday life would come to an abrupt end. And for seventy years, the land would lie desolate as the Jews served the Babylonian king (v 8-11). Some may have blamed Nebuchadnezzar for their troubles, but this evil ruler was summoned by God to serve divine purposes (v 9a). Since God called him “My servant,” it may have been even more tempting to be angry with God. Yet those who had ignored the warnings had only themselves to blame. They had provoked God by their unwillingness to listen, and their persistence in sin had led to their own harm (v 7). How many of our wounds are self-inflicted? Israel is not the only nation God watches. He also has His eye on Babylon, so He can punish their deeds. After seventy years, God will overcome Israel’s enemy and bring His own people back home. For the believer, all our troubles are temporary, as soon Christ will come to take us home for good (v 12-14). The judgment of Babylon is only a foretaste of a greater judgment to come. Jeremiah is called to take a cup from God’s hand. This is not a champagne cocktail to celebrate the New Year. This is a cup filled with the wine of God’s wrath, and all the nations will be forced to drink it. If Jerusalem, the city that bears God’s name, had to suffer, how will any city escape? (v 15-29). The bitter cup of God’s wrath has been mixed for every sinner who does not repent and trust in God’s Son. From Jerusalem to the Middle East, and from the Middle East to the whole world, everyone must face the final judgment. Only in Christ is there hope. At the cross He drank this cup, absorbing God’s wrath in His own body, so that all who trust in His sacrifice would be spared the bitter brew to drink only from the sweet cup of His grace (v 30-38). For further meditation: